DO you recognise this shop front?

It is now one of the most visited buildings on Bridge Street in Warrington town centre, as it was back in the mid-1800s when it operated as a bakery.

This imposing shop was built for the Bridge Street Bakery of the Carter family.

It is now mainly home to fast food giant McDonald’s but its importance is emphasised in a history book celebrating Warrington’s most famous buildings.

The Warrington Guardian has teamed up with popular author Janice Hayes to tell some of the interesting tales from Warrington in 50 Buildings, celebrating some of the most iconic buildings still standing in the town.

The new premises of Carter’s was completed in 1907 near to their previous store which was nearby on Patten Lane.

On August 8, 1917, an electrical fault sparked a fire that swept through the building in the early hours of the morning.

The fire spread rapidly because of the flammable grain, flour and cattle food stored there.

Warrington’s fire brigade fought the blaze for several hours but the foodstuffs and bakers were destroyed.

There was more than £22,000 worth of damaged done to the building, which was only partly insured.

The fire was disastrous for Warrington’s food supplies as, by 1917, the First World War was causing a national shortage for food.

By February, Germany had resumed submarine warfare and was attacking ships heading to Britain, which was importing about two-thirds of her food supply to feed the nation.

Due to wartime food restrictions, it took three years before the Bridge Street shop reopened.

It later became an impressive cafe and tea room and that is how perhaps many readers best remember the site.